Rent Control

RENT LEVELING & STABILIZATION BOARD and Office 201-420-2062

The Rent Control Board is a seven member panel appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Municipal Council. These members shall serve during the term of the Mayor appointing them and shall serve without compensation. A quorum for hearing shall consist of at least four (4) members (a majority) of the whole board and shall be authorized to issue orders relating to the powers and functions of the Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board. Two (2) alternate members shall also be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the council. Article III 155-18.

Rent Control Ordinance may be picked up on the 3rd floor of City Hall, Rent Control Office. Please download the OPRA form to be completed at the City Clerk’s Office before ordinance is picked up.

Rent Control Board meetings are generally held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, 6:30 pm in the conference room of City of Hall (ground floor).

A City Council subcommittee is holding a series of hearings to analyze city’s rent control regulations, and advocates for both landlords and tenants are gearing up for what promises to be contentious debate over potential changes.

Hoboken’s Rent Leveling and Stabilization Ordinance, passed in 1973, limits how much a landlord of a multifamily building (built before 1987) can raise the rent each year. Usually the increase is limited to between 1 and 7 percent, the amount of the federal Consumer Price Index.

The administration, in its never-ending search for truth, justice, and the American way for its allies, is promoting a change in the rent control laws which will limit the liability of landlords in the event of unlawful rent hikes to two years of excess charges.

The city agreed last Tuesday to postpone imposing a controversial rent control amendment for up to 90 days - and the City Council may be mulling over some changes to the ordinance to avoid a court battle.

Longtime tenant advocate and former mayoral candidate Dan Thumpson warned City Council members that if they approved controversial changes to rent control, he would eventually beat them on the streets.

Well, the City Council went ahead and approved the amendment weeks ago and Thumpson made good on his promise yesterday when he dropped 70 pages of certified signatures at the City Clerk's Office, signaling the start of a referendum that threatens to repeal the changes.

Two-year statute of limitations implemented for collecting overcharged rentThe Hoboken City Council has passed an amendment to the city's Rent Control Ordinance that will limit how far back a tenant can go to recoup rent overpayments.As the law was written, tenants could recover all of the money they overpaid in rent, no matter how long they have lived at an address. This has led to some landlords having to pay as much as $100,000 to long-term tenants.

HOBOKEN - Three members of the City Council who will help decide the future of the rent control in the city have violated the current law as landlords.

Records also show that at least one council member's family has been involved with charging tenants more than their legal rents.

The typically private affairs of the City Council have become a public issue since they considered amending the rent control ordinance more than a month ago. The council is expected to vote on a proposal tomorrow that will limit landlord payouts to tenants who were charged above the legal rent.

A proposed amendment to the Hoboken Rent Control Ordinance that would limit the payouts of thousands of dollars in illegally charged rents may infringe upon the protections afforded by the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A Title 56, Chapter 8.

Before taking such action, it would be wise for the Hoboken City Council to review the Supreme Court of the United States decision in COHEN v. DE LA CRUZ ET AL, No. 96-1923. Argued January 20, 1998-Decided March 24, 1998.

Petitioner <COHEN>owned several residential properties in and around Hoboken, New Jersey, one of which was subject to a local rent control ordinance. In 1989, the Hoboken Rent Control Administrator determined that petitioner had been charging rents above the levels permitted by the ordinance, and ordered him to refund to the affected tenants, who are respondents in this Court, $31,382.50 in excess rents charged. Petitioner did not comply with the order.

The US Supreme Court ruled "Under New Jersey law, the debt for fraudulently obtaining $31,382.50 in rent payments includes treble damages and attorney

Although the Hoboken City Council postponed a vote on several changes to the city's rent control ordinance, a number of residents voiced their opposition causing heated debates - to the point that the police were nearly involved - and stretching the meeting to three hours.

Rent control changes go to vote next week City Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr. introduced an amendment to the Hoboken Rent Control Ordinance at last week's council meeting. The change would limit a tenant's ability to recoup possibly thousands of dollars in illegally overpaid rent. A public discussion and final vote is expected at the Wednesday, September 21st City Council meeting.

The changes in the statute of limitations in the Hoboken Rent Control Ordinance that is being proposed by Councilman Ruben Ramos would only apply to new tenants only; existing tenants are unaffected.

Your paper unfairly implies that a property owner knows (or should know) what a "legal" rent is for a specific apartment. In fact, there have been multiple changes over the years in the manner in which the city applies the rules, to the extent that it is just about impossible to be sure what will pass the challenge of a rent calculation.

Make tenants qualify for it

The problem with Hoboken's system is that the people who are getting the benefit, or subsidy if you will, are not the people who need it. The law does not require someone to qualify for a rent-controlled apartment, so you have young, healthy, professionals who are making well into the six-figure salary range taking advantage of the system.